The players had already been sent onto the field and had exchanged pleasantries amongst themselves and were ready for the referee to whistle for the commencement of the encounter before the convoy of the president arrived at the match centre.

The game, which was initially expected to get underway at exactly 18:00 GMT was made to wait for an additional 30 minutes as the match officials and players waited for the president to perform the usual ceremonial kick.

Despite calls to use their fringe players for the game, both Samuel Boadu and Prosper Ogum Narteh named strong starting line-ups for the game.

Hearts and Kotoko both made one change to the team that faced each other two weeks ago in the Ghana Premier League, with Isaac Mensah replacing Gladson Awako in the Hearts set-up while Justice Blay came in for Dickson Afoakwa in the Kotoko line-up.

The President’s Cup is an annual ceremonial game organized by the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) to be played in honour of the president of the country.

The Porcupine Warriors won the last edition at the Accra Sports Stadium, beating the Phobians with a 2-1 scoreline.